The Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is given to the bowler who takes the most wickets in a season. Every year we see various talented bowlers giving it their best and winning the Purple Cap.
So which are those bowlers who have managed to win the Purple Cap, year by year?
In this article, we will be taking a look at the Purple Cap winners in IPL- year by year:
IPL 2008: Sohail Tanvir – 22 Wickets
Sohail Tanvir’s performance in the inaugural edition of the league is still considered one of the best performances by a bowler in the league’s history. He was breathing fire as he went on to pick the most number of wickets and eventually win the Purple Cap in IPL 2008. He picked 22 wickets in 11 matches. This included a 6/14 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Tanvir played a major role in Rajasthan Royals (RR), winning the title in that season.
IPL 2009: RP Singh – 23 Wickets
India’s fast bowler RP Singh who was playing for the Deccan Chargers (DC), went on to win the Purple Cap in the second edition of the league. He was sensational throughout the season, ending up with the Purple Cap with 23 wickets in 16 matches. His team, i.e. DC, also went on to win the title in that season.
IPL 2010: Pragyan Ojha – 21 Wickets
Ojha was one of the most difficult spinners to read back then. He formed an integral part of the Deccan Chargers. He went on to win the Purple Cap in the third edition of the league as he picked up 21 scalps in 16 matches. He bowled at an economy of 7.29 and an average of 16.8 in the tournament.
IPL 2011: Lasith Malinga – 28 Wickets
Lasith Malinga was unplayable in the fourth edition of the league. He was at his best during that season. The Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer went on to pick 28 wickets and eventually won the Purple Cap in the fourth edition of the league. It is safe to say that Malinga has been the greatest bowler in IPL history.
Read: The Top 10 Overseas Bowlers with the Most Wickets in IPL.
IPL 2012: Morne Morkel – 25 Wickets
The Proteas pacer went on to win the Purple Cap in the fifth edition of the league. Morne Morkel was superb in IPL 2012 and was one of the major reasons why Delhi finished at the top of the table during the group stage. They eventually finished third and lost the second qualifier to Kolkata Knight Riders, who went on to win the title. Morkel took 25 wickets in that season.
IPL 2013: Dwayne Bravo – 32 Wickets
Bravo is one of the greatest players to have played for CSK. The Caribbean all-rounder went on to win the Purple Cap in the sixth edition of the league. He took 32 wickets in that season, which is still the highest by any bowler for a single season (check the top 5 in that list here). Bravo was one of the key players for CSK as CSK went to reach the finals in that season.
IPL 2014: Mohit Sharma – 23 Wickets
It was Mohit Sharma who won the Purple Cap in 2014. The Indian pacer was superb with his variations that season and was one of the major reasons why CSK performed admirably well. He went on to take 23 wickets in 16 matches. CSK captain MS Dhoni showed a lot of faith in him that season and Mohit didn’t disappoint his skipper either in that season. But then, the CSK pacer’s career slowly declined as he finds himself out of an IPL contract and hasn’t played for India in the next six years.
IPL 2015: Dwayne Bravo – 26 Wickets
It was a CSK pacer who won the Purple Cap for the third consecutive time. DJ Bravo became the first bowler in IPL history to win the Purple Cap twice as he took the most number of wickets in 2015. He took 26 wickets as his team lost out to the Mumbai Indians in the season’s thriller.
Read: The Greatest Five All-rounders in IPL History
IPL 2016: Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 23 Wickets
It is safe to say that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been of the best Indian bowlers in IPL history. He won the Purple Cap for the first time in the ninth edition of the league. He took 23 wickets and led the team from the front with the ball. This was the year when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) went on to win their first IPL title.
IPL 2017: Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 26 Wickets
Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first bowler to win the Purple Cap in two consecutive seasons. He took the most number of wickets in this season and even took more number of wickets than what he took in 2016. He picked 26 wickets as SRH went on to reach the playoffs in that season.
IPL 2018: Andrew Tye – 24 Wickets
Andrew Tye was at his best in 2018. He was in the form of his life as he went on to win the Purple Cap in that season. The Australian pacer was superb for Punjab and picked wickets at regular intervals. He took 24 wickets, but the team under the captaincy of Ravichandran Ashwin finished at a dismal 7th spot.
IPL 2019: Imran Tahir – 26 Wickets
It is safe to say that Imran Tahir is one of the greatest T20 spinners of all time. In fact, he is among the top 5 leg spinners of the tournament. He was superlative in 2019 and was a key player for CSK. He went on to win the Purple Cap in that season as he went on to pick 26 wickets for CSK. His team reached yet another final but were defeated by MI as the Rohit Sharma-led team picked their fourth title.
IPL 2020: Kagiso Rabada – 30 Wickets
Rabada has been one of the best bowlers in the IPL for quite a while now. The Delhi Capitals (DC) went on to reach the finals in the previous edition of the league, and he was one of the major reasons for that. Rabada went on to pick 30 wickets and won the Purple Cap in 2020. DC eventually lost to MI in the finals.
IPL 2021: Harshal Patel – 32 Wickets
RCB’s Harshal Patel finished IPL 2021 with 32 wickets from 15 games at a strike rate of 10.56. The right-arm pacer equalled Dwayne Bravo’s 2013 record for the most wickets a single IPL season. Find the top 5 bowlers with most wickets in a single IPL season here. Delhi Capitals pacer Avesh Khan was the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2021 with 24 scalps in IPL 2021.
IPL 2022: Yuzvendra Chahal – 27 Wickets
Yuzvendra Chahal has been the leading wicket-taker in the last 8 IPL seasons. From 2015 to 2022, Chahal has picked 154 wickets, 17 more than what the second-best Jasprit Bumrah has achieved in the same period. However, the Indian leg spinner had to wait until the 2022 season to win his first purple cap in the tournament. He picked 27 wickets at a strike rate of 15.1, with an average of 19.51 in the season, where his team RR ended as the runners. His replacement on the RCB side, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, ended up with 26 wickets.
IPL 2023: Mohammed Shami – 28 Wickets
The tournament’s leading wicket-taker and another veteran who improves with age, Mohammed Shami, took wickets in the powerplay and delivered in the death overs. The champion Indian pacer continued his great form from the previous season and helped his side, Gujarat Titans, make their second consecutive tournament final. He has been a captain’s dream, and there is no way to look beyond him as the spearhead. Shami picked 28 wickets, at an economy rate of 8.03, and shares the fifth spot in the chart of bowlers who have picked the most wickets in a single IPL season.
